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“I get upset when I think about it, Leon. That’s all. He’ll be gone two years next month.”
“Yikes, I’m so sorry. That isn’t very long,” Leon said, not having much to compare it to. How long was long enough? “I’m sorry I pressured you, Ava. I take it all back. Take as long as you need. I’m not going to ask again.”
“Thanks, Leon. Thank you for understanding.”
A little anger brewed, a little heartache.
“We should have talked about it. If you’d given me the facts up front, we could have avoided this.”
“I know, it’s my fault. But I didn’t think full disclosure would be necessary since I’m old enough to be your mother. I’m just not ready. I should never have slept with you.”
The comment was enough. “Look, have a safe flight home. The baby’s crying,” he lied. “I’ll talk to you later.”
With that, he hung up without waiting for her reply. Turning over, he closed his eyes, consciously blocking out the words they’d said, the sound of her voice, the pain in his chest.
His heart was officially broken.
Chapter 8
They didn’t talk to each other again until the night before he returned to work. He assumed she’d returned home safely from her trip, so out of courtesy, he called to see if she was still willing to babysit for him.
“Leon, of course. I’m your nanny no matter what.”
“Thanks. I’ll be there at six thirty in the morning as usual. Goodbye.”
The urge to throw his phone across the room was so powerful he forced himself to put it down gently and walk away. At her front door the next morning, he bit his lip to keep from speaking about anything but Violet’s care. He longed to ask her why she’d lead him on, but there would be no reasonable answer. Obviously, she had just been lonely, and he was available, not anticipating that he’d fall in love with her. She still mourned the loss of her husband. Everyone had warned him to keep his distance, and he ignored them.
The three days at the firehouse were torture. Except for the daily call from Ava with information about Violet’s well-being, they didn’t speak to each other. Fortunately for the public, there were few fire calls, but that meant he had time on his hands to think. Finally, Leon’s father and uncle, who guessed a little bit about what he was going through, decided to teach him how to take apart a generator, and that would keep him busy between calls and toilet cleaning.
On Sunday morning as he prepared to leave work to pick up Violet, pounding despair made each step forward agonizing. Asking his mother to pick the baby up was a tempting consideration, but she’d be getting ready to go to church. Instead, he decided he’d pick Violet up and meet the family for mass at eleven. Having that goal energized him.
Afterward, they went to Wild Pancake. As usual, they had to wait in the foyer for a table big enough for twenty Saints to be available. Leon held Violet, and the women of the family surrounded him, petting her, when Francine Walker walked in with girlfriends, spotting Leon right away.
“Is this your baby? She’s so cute!”
They made small talk for a minute; then the hostess announced their table was ready. Something clicked in Leon’s head as he prepared to walk away from her. He had nothing to lose. “Can I have your number?”
She was going to ask what happened to the girlfriend, but chose to give the guy a break. She grabbed a take-out menu and a pencil off the counter and jotted down her number.
“Here you go. I thought you’d never ask.”
“I’m just coming down from a three-day shift, so it might not be until later.”
“That’s fine. I’ll be looking forward to it whenever it is.”
His brothers surrounded him at the table, patting him on the back, trying to encourage him even though making the effort with Francine had made him feel more despondent. “Good for you. Get back on the horse. Get on with your life.”
“Maybe I’ll try being alone for a while,” he replied. “Being here with everyone is enough socialization for me.”
Laughter rang out. “Yep, this family will suck the life out of you,” Roberta said. “But eventually you’ll feel the need to move on.”
“Francine Walker is a nice transition to something else,” brother Tony said. “You’ve done worse.”
“Thanks,” Leon said, but he joined in the laughter that was at his expense.
Francine sat with her girlfriends at a booth in an adjoining dining room, away from the Saints, but they could still hear the laughter.
“Is that the guy? He’s like a big teddy bear!”
